(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inverter apparatus and a liquid crystal display including an inverter apparatus.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Display devices used for monitors of computers and television sets include self-emitting displays such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), electroluminescences (ELs), vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs), field emission displays (FEDs) and plasma panel displays (PDPs) and non-emitting displays such liquid crystal displays (LCDs) requiring light source.
An LCD includes two panels provided with field-generating electrodes and a liquid crystal (LC) layer with dielectric anisotropy interposed therebetween. The field-generating electrodes supplied with electric voltages generate electric field in the liquid crystal layer, and the transmittance of light passing through the panels varies depending on the strength of the applied field, which can be controlled by the applied voltages. Accordingly, desired images are obtained by adjusting the applied voltages.
The light may be emitted from a light source such as a lamp equipped in the LCD or may be natural light. When using the equipped light source, the total brightness of the LCD screen is usually adjusted using an inverter by regulating the ratio of on and off times of the light source or by regulating the current through the light source.
The LCD for a large screen system such as television sets, which is required to have high luminance, includes several inverters, each inverter driving at least one lamp. Accordingly, the volume of the inverter module becomes enlarged and an excessive rush current is generated, when initiating the lighting of the lamps, to cause malfunction of a power supply for the LCD. In order to prevent the problem, the capacity and the volume of the power supply may be enlarged, but it may deteriorate slimness of the LCD.